Bloomberg: Agriculture Could Dig Greece Get Out of Recession

Bloomberg mentioned Tuesday in an article that the agricultural sector in Greece could help the country out of recession, while referring to several successful Greek agriculture exporters.

“Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is calling on manufacturers of traditional foods and beverages, from fish-roe producers to honey makers, to play a bigger role in transforming the country into an export economy,” the Bloomberg article notes, while underlining the recent fall of 0.2 percent in Greek export numbers and the call by the Greek PM, who underlined the ability of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses to expand on a global scale.

Bloomberg mentions that Greek exports of agricultural products including food, beverages and vegetable oils rose 3.5 percent in 2013, and account for around 17 percent of the total value of Greek exports, although the country’s economy has been shrinking during the past four years

The article also features several Greek food producers, who started businesses by either only focusing on foreign markets or by using exports to compensate for the losses incurred in the domestic market.

One of the companies is Papadimitriou CC SA, which is exporting balsamic vinegar and mustard. “All our products are developed with a primary focus on our foreign markets’ needs,” CEO Christos Papadimitriou told Bloomberg.

At the same time, founder of Carpo Hellas, Kostas Kontopoulos, managed within a crisis-struck Greece to step forward and sell luxury foods, including dried fruit and nuts, sourced from independent suppliers. His products sell in Milan, London, Paris and the East.

Thessaloniki-based company Ergon has also achieved something similar, Bloomberg reports. In 2013, the company opened a combined grocery and restaurant store in London, and is planning its expansion to Brussels, focusing on products with protected designation of origin or geographical indication, including honey, fish and olives from independent producers.